Wide-adoption of high-speed Internet has made it possible for marketers to integrate video, audio and interactive features within their online advertising. This makes it easier for marketers to reinforce their print and TV ads by repurposing photos, video and music from those campaigns for online ads.
Rich media ads allow viewers to submit information by filling out a form, or even make an online purchase, from within the ad. They can also include programming that provides immediate feedback or alternates the content of the ad based on predefined criteria.
A 2007 report from DoubleClick, a leading source of online media research, identifies video ads as the fastest growing segment of rich media ads. According to their report, 8 percent of video ads generate a user interaction.
Key findings of the report include:
- Users click video "Play" buttons more than they click on image ads.
- Video ads garner about three times the replay rate as image ads generating clicks-thrus to advertisers' sites.
- On average, video ads play two-thirds of the way through. Play-through rates do not vary greatly by expandable or standard video ad formats.
- Video click rates are far higher than image format ads. Users click on video ads about five times as often as they do on image ads.
By 2009, rich media ad units will account for over half of all online display ads by spending, according to Jupiter Research.